Wacky Adventures of Psycho Ari in Feudal Japan
by claihm solais
Summary: COMPLETE! Uh...it's weird. A friend of mine falls through the well...and she's into swordfighting. Just read and have a good laugh!
1. Fall through the Well & Random Encounter

_Author's Notes: This story is basically...uh...weird. It's dedicated to a friend of mine who like iaido (japanese swordplay) a lot, and is a perfectionist (in a good way, though). Of course, she's in the story...uh, just read for youself. I don't know what possessed me to write this but I think it had something to do that she commented on Inu-Yasha's sword technique once..._

_Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha and the entire gang belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I ain't own anything! And Ari is of course her own person._

**CHAPTER ONE: A FALL THROUGH THE WELL AND A RANDOM ENCOUNTER**

Once upon a time...no, wait. That's kinda wrong. Let me start again. Well, it was a warm and sunny day in Tokyo, Japan. A foreign looking girl walked down the streets on the outskirts of the large city. It wasn't anything special, nowadays many gaijin walked the streets of Japan. That girl, however, carried an elongated carrying case with her. 

During her stroll through the outskirts of Tokyo, she noticed a small shrine and well adjacent to it. _Perfect_, she thought. _The ideal place to practice._She headed for the well and unslung her bag. Taking a look around at the surrounding  area, her smile broadened. Green fields were stretching out, the sun was shining brightly, and the sakura trees were blooming.

She opened her carrying case and took out a sword – and iaito, to be exact. The metal replica of a Japanese katana was unsharpened; still, the metal gleamed in the sun and reflected the landscpae as she drew the blade out of its sheath. The girl started to go through a few basic moves to warm up, then started a standing kata. She tripped over the rim of the well and fell in.

"F"§%%$&§%%$§$"%$%&§%&!!!!!!!!" could be heard emanating from the well, until the exclamation suddenly cut off.

            The girl slowly opened her eyes and blinked. She was staring up at a clear blue sky that was taking on a slightly red tinge. _Probably from the setting sun,_ she though. _I wonder how long I've been out._ She tried to sit up and swore slightly at the headache that formed. "Great. And I forgot the Japanese word for 'headache'," she muttered in English. "Now, how am I going to get out of here?"

            Suddenly, something growled, and she swirled around. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" A low voice growled. Futilely, the girl glanced around trying to discern where the speaker was. "Uh...Just tell me where I am, and I'll be on my way," she told the air.

            "Not buying to, wench," the voice snarled again.

            Something in the girl snapped, and she felt fury burning up in her. _Wench? He called me a wench??? She glared in the approximate direction of the voice. "You just come out and fight me, you bastard!"_

            Inu-Yasha stepped from behind the shadows of the trees and into the clearing in front of the well. Who the hell was this girl? And why did she come through the well? And, more importantly, how? He repaid her glare in kind. "Well, you have anything to say, wench?"

            The girl stared dumbly at the figure in front of her. In the light of the setting sun she could make out he was a young boy, maybe even younger than her, and wearing a red kimono and yukata. Her gaze drifted up to his face. She noticed he had amber eyes, but what really shocked her was the two dog-ears on top of his head. She instinctively tried to reach out and touch them, but he snarled and backed off, putting a hand on the hilt of his sword. Now she noticed he was also carrying an old worn katana in an equally worn scabbard. 

            "Leave me alone, wench!" He shouted. "And you still have to explain yourself."

            She stared at him, her fury renewed. "Grrr...How are you talking, anyway? Didn't you ever learn manners?" Her temper was flaring.

            Inu-Yasha scrutinized the girl in front of him for a moment. Her temper was hot, and he noticed absently that she was also carrying a sword and scabbard – although hers looked a lot newer than the Tetsusaiga. "I don't have all day," he added.

            The girl snorted as she noticed his gaze wandering over her. _I'll teach that guy a lesson, she thought. She placed her hand on her iaito. "Are you always this rude?" she asked him. "Because, if you are, then I'll have to teach you a lesson in manners!" The figure snorted. "If you feel up to it, wench."_

            They both moved into duelling stances, and bowed, then waited for the other to draw first. 

            Inu-Yasha stared at the girl before him. _Feh. That wench has a lot more guts than you'd think._ He sure as hell wasn't going to draw first – later, his useless half-brother Sesshoumaru might even accuse him of attacking harmless girls!

            The girl glanced over at her opponent. _Damn him! And this was supposed to be my vacation!_ She didn't want to draw first – she knew that would open her up.

            When they finally drew, they did it at the same time. Steel clashed against steel as the two blades met in an identical cut in mid-air. Both stared for a moment before jumping back a little. The girl stared in surprise. _Wow. That was fast._

            Inu-Yasha glanced at the girl again. _Didn't think the girl had it in her. No one I've met so far has been able to draw that fast._ He decided not to transform the Tetsusaiga – he didn't want to kill her.

            The girl looked at the boy who held his rusty, worn blade in an expert defensive stance. _Looks like he actually knows what he's going._ She considered backing off for a moment, but her pride took over.

            Inu-Yasha watched as she charged into a kata, and blocked it, let the cut sweep aside and tried to hit back. However, she sidestepped his cut and her sword slashed inches from his right hand. He smiled slightly, impressed. They jumped apart. "At least tell me your name. I don't like fighting nameless people," he told her.

            The girl glared at the boy. "Name's Ari," she said in Japanese. "Not that it's any of your business." She charged again, and they fought, never once scoring a hit, despite giving it their best. Finally, after about an hour of exhaustive combat, they both collapsed at the base of the well. 

            _Geez, that guy has some stamina, Ari thought. _And he's fast, too. Good thing I kept out of the way of his blade. Who knew that a rusty old sword could cut through a tree trunk like butter?_ She shuddered as she recalled when Inu-Yasha had swept the blade at her horizontally, missed, and hit a tree trunk instead. The tree had fallen just as if it had been felled._

            Inu-Yasha sat panting in the grass. _Feh. That girl is good. Wonder where she came from?_ The hanyou glanced sideways at the girl named Ari again. She was panting with exhaustion, her face flushed red, her iaito laying by her side, but within easy reach.


	2. A Fight and some Random Critique

A/N: Uh...right. This is chapter two. One note on the reviews, though:

Evilbat667, this is nowhere near supposed to be an actual story, it is something I just cooked up as a joke for her. Mainly, it's about her criticising Inu-Yasha's sword technique on various occassions. It was just the introduction I wrote.

CHAPTER TWO: A FIGHT AND SOME RANDOM CRITIQUE

            The demon jumped them from out of nowhere. Inu-Yasha turned and battled it for a couple of minutes, before finally slashing it to pieces with his transformed Tetsusaiga. When he turned around, a victorious smirk on his face, he stared right into the face of a mad Ari. "What is it now?" He asked, confusedly. The girl had been staying with them for the last couple of days, and he knew better than to provoke her temper. Of course, he wouldn't hit her, but her tone could go _extremely_ high when she was angry. And it hurt his ears a lot, too.

            "Grrrr...." Ari was staring at the hanyou with murder in her eyes. Her dark brown eyes were flashing with barely restrained anger, and she seemed ready to kill – even with just her unsharpened sword. Subconsciously, Inu-Yasha took a half-step back. "What's wrong, woman?"

            "Grrrr...." Was all Ari continued to say.

            The half-demon was completely confused. What was it with that girl? One moment she seemed delighted at seeing him swordfighting, next moment she was ready to kill him? He had realized she was a sword maniac, and a perfectionist at that. She obviously loved the art of swordfighting to an extent that was almost unhealthy, and he had no doubt it had probably affected her mental abilities, too.

            And she continued to glare at him the rest of the way back to the village. He snorted. _Feh. I'll never understand women._

            Inu-Yasha noticed the girl staring at him with a murderous look in her eyes for the rest of the day, and he tried futilely to shake off the nagging feeling of unease that was creeping up in him.

            Later that night he was sitting outside in the Go-Shinboku tree, trying to catch some sleep when he heard rustling beneath him. In an instant, he was down and ready to draw. He relaxed when he saw it was only Ari.

            "What do you want, woman?" He asked gruffly.

            "Just to tell you the thing I have been trying to tell you all along today," she said calmly. Somehow, that did nothing to alleviate Inu-Yasha's growing sense of doom. "Uh...what?"

            "YOUR TECHNIQUE SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The girl yelled at the top of her lungs, a yell so loud it was echoed hundredfold in the forest, scaring awake everything that could skitter, fly, or crawl. Inu-Yasha thought he would die from the intensity of the sound in his sensitive ears, and he felt as if the scream could be heard to the end of the world. When she had stopped screaming and his ears had stopped ringing – which took quite a while – he glared at her. 

            "What do you mean by that, wench?"

            She took a deep breath. 

"Yourkatawasoffandyouweretotallyoverswingingtheswordwithouteventhinkingwhereitwassupposedtogoandyoustancewashorribleand..." Inu-Yasha tuned her out as she started rattling off critique faster than any living being could have listened and comprehended. When she paused to take a breath – which seemed to take her an inhumanly long time – he interrupted her.

"Say that again. This time, at normal speed. Woman, at the rate you talk, it's no wonder no one understands you!"

Ari glared at the hanyou for a second, her brown eyes reflecting in the starlight, then started again. "All right. First of all, your stance sucks. You bend over too far, and let the sword carry you away. You're supposed to stand straight." Inu-Yasha sighed. Was it his fault he had a bad back?

"Second, you are overswinging your sword. I mean, you just slash without even thinking of where to hit and how to hit..." The hanyou shook his head. Hey, if he hit someone with the Tetsusaiga, it didn't matter where or how he hit it – the thing was DEAD!

"Third..." Ari seemed to be able to go on forever. "Your kata – it wasn't anything I could recognize!"

"That's because it wasn't supposed to be one," Inu-Yasha told her, his patience waning away. "It was supposed to be a seven-hit combo with a dunk as a finisher."

"Still, what were you trying to accomplish punching the ground like that?"

Ínu-Yasha sighed. "Never mind. Just leave me alone, woman."

"I WON'T! I can't stand by and let you carry on with this...this...perversion of proper style! You didn't even bow to your opponent!"

"Woman, this isn't mock combat –here, the youkai actually try to kill you! Now listen, if you think you can do better, fine, handle the next demon that comes along with you 'proper style'!" With that, the hanyou walked off.


	3. Sparring With Sango

CHAPTER THREE: SPARRING WITH SANGO

Ari walked around the village, enjoying the friendly atmosphere and warm sun. The sky was a light shade of blue, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. The young woman took a deep breath and let the sun warm her face as she stood beneath the Go-Shinboku tree. Her sheathed iaito was in her left hand.

Her right hand went to its hilt. In a flash, her blade was out, arcing in a horizontal cut.

"Hey! Watch out! You can kill someone even with a dull blade as fast as you draw!" Ari's eyes snapped open. She could see Sango – Inu-Yasha's demon huntress travel companion – look around a tree that had a thin cut mark in its bark. "Huh?"

The other woman grinned slightly. "What? You never managed to do this before?"

"Do what?"

"Draw fast enough to create a small windblade. It's a small one, but few people have the strength and speed to create even a small one. Not to mention the accuracy to stop the blade where they want to." The demon huntress smiled. "Interesting technique, though."

Ari inspected the cut closer. It was indeed a tiny cut in the bark, but then, the bark was quite solid. She eyed the distance to where she had been standing – her cut had traversed about four feet. She whistled. "Wow."

Sango's chuckle brought her back to their conversation. "What can I do for you, Sango?"

"I was wondering whether you'd be interested in a little practice, since Inu-Yasha so kindly announced that you'd be taking down the next youkai we came across." Ari groaned. She hadn't thought the hanyou would take her critique so seriously. She just hoped that whatever they came across next was something small that she could kill easily.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked the demon huntress.

Sango grinned and pulled her Hiraikotsu from her back. "How about we start with some sparring?"

Ari gulped audibly as she eyed the giant boomerang nervously. "Uh...there's one thing I wanted to ask you..."

"Yes?"

"Isn't that thing a little heavy?"

Sango glanced at her weapon and back at Ari. "Not really." She grinned again. "You ready?"

"Uh...sure." Ari struck a defensive stance, although she kept wondering what good it would do her against a giant, kickass boomerang in the back of her mind. Sango readied herself on the other side of the clearing. "Ready?" She yelled.

Ari nodded.

"HIRAIKOTSU!" The boomerang came flying at Ari. Her first instinct was to raise her blade in a block, the she thought better of it and just dropped to the ground as the weapon passed over her. She came back up and started running towards Sango when something knocked the wind out of her. She landed on the ground hard. "What the...?"

She saw Sango hoisting up her weapon again. "Great, it even comes back." _I totally forgot it's a boomerang. Sango ran over to her. "Are you okay? I thought you would block or dodge it, I'm sorry."_

Ari stood herself back on her feet. "Ready for round two?" she asked.

Sango grinned again. "Yeah."

As they moved apart, Ari spotted a spot of red and white up in one of the trees. _And? Let him watch. Maybe he'll learn something._

Sango's Hiraikotsu came flying past her, and Ari leapt to the side, slightly angling her blade downwards and backwards. The boomerang glanced off the alloy blade and slammed into the ground. Ari resheathed her iaito and waited for Sango to come to retrieve her weapon. The tayji-ya came, but not the way Ari had thought. Sango came charging with a katana of her own. Ari sidestepped the other girl instinctively.

As Sango spun around, Ari's blade made contact with her sword, sliding down the length of the blade. Ari's blade locked itself with Sango's tsuba.

Ari noticed on a sideline that her first observation had been wrong. Sango wasn't using a katana – her weapon was a ninja-to, the straight assassin's blade. She tried to slide her blade past the square hilt guard of Sango's sword, while the demon huntress tried to push her sword out of the way. Finally, they jumped apart.

Ari considered sheathing her iaito for a moment to launch into a kata, but then considered the distance between the two of them. The glaring sun reflected off Sango's ninja-to. That gave her an idea. She kept her sword out and went into a low stance, her iaito at her right, tip lowered and pointing at the ground. The two stood there for a moment before Sango attacked again. Ari angled her blade upwards and let the sun reflect off the polished metal blade. Sango reeled back as the light blinded her for an instant.

In the instant of hesitation, Ari sidestepped and brought her blade down on the demon huntress, stopping a hair's breadth from her neck. Sango arched an eyebrow. "I need to remember that trick," she said. Ari grinned evilly as she relaxed against the nearest tree for a moment. Incidentally, it had been the one Sango had noticed the cut from her windblade on.

Ari flailed and yelled as the support went out from behind her and she fell over backward on her rear. 

""$$%$/%&&§$&/&/$&%&/§$"§&%/$§%$/(%"%$&§$&%&§/&/$§&&/"§%%$/$&/$/&//(&%(/(%$/%&%&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sango winced and covered her ears at the barrage of swears and curses of an all too familiar voice. Then she looked at the tree and gaped.

Finally, Ari turned around to see what had happened and why Sango was staring at her. She followed the demon huntress's gaze behind her, and her jaw dropped. The tree was down. Apparently, her windblade had done more than just put a scratch into its bark. And, right in the crown of the tree, lay a _very rumpled and angry hanyou. Both girls broke out in laughter that resounded in the forest._


	4. Wind Demon vs Ari

CHAPTER FOUR: WIND DEMON VS ARI

The six of them walked through the countryside. Ari enjoyed the unbroken, natural landscape that seemed to glimmer with an unearthly attraction under the summer sun. She knew she could go back anytime with Kagome, but she had been looking for a place like this, away from the troubles and hectic of the cities of her time. And since she was here, she decided he's enjoy her vacation in Feudal Japan.

She had taken a liking to the group. Sango, Shippou, Kagome, Miroku – despite his...questionable nature – and even Inu-Yasha. Despite the fact that the time was swarming with demons, it was starting to feel more home to the auburn-haired girl than her own time. 

Suddenly,  a gush of wind nearly blasted them off their feet, and a large shadow blocked out the sun. As Ari looked up at the sky, she saw a giant feather hanging there above them. _A feather???_

A female voice laughed. She could see a figure leaping off the feather and landing before them. The feather magically vanished and reversed to a normal-sized feather.

Inu-Yasha growked. "What do you want, Kagura?"

The woman in front of them had short black hair pulled up in a bun, elegant features, and was wearing a kimono with sakura blossoms stiched on it decoratively. What struck ari most about her were her dark crimson eyes. The woman whom Inu-Yasha had called Kagura smiled evilly. "The same as always, Inu-Yasha. Hand over the shards of the Shikon no Tama."

"Or perish...Yah, we know the routine. Honestly, Kagura, can't you think of a new line that's more, uh, threatening?" Kagome told the wind demon. Kagura froze for an instant. "Well, you know, it's in my contract that I have to say that crappy sentence every time I appear. Maybe I should have read the small print in my contract with Naraku." She sighed. "Anyway, you gonna give me those glass pieces, or not?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Not a chance in hell, wench!"

Kagura smiled again and withdrew a fan from her right sleeve. She held it before her face and let it fall open, revealing the beautifully embroidered silk fabric. "All right then."

Ari felt someone shove her forward. "You said last time you could handle a demon. Here's your chance, woman," Inu-Yasha told her. The fire in his eyes told her he'd rather fight the wind demon himself, but her challenge overruled his fighting insticts.

Ari glanced from Kagura to Inu-Yasha, and calculated the odds. She, with her dull metal iaito, against a wind demon who was using a fighting fan. "Don't worry, I've got you back, Lady Ari," Miroku said and smirked. She whirled around when she felt a hand touching her in...inappropriate spots, and smacked her wooden saya over the monk's head repeatedly until he collapsed on the ground. She hit him once more for good measure.

"Hey, you guys done so we can finally fight? I'm not being paid by the hour, you know," Kagura shouted.

Finally, Ari turned around. "All right, all right!" They moved apart from each other, squaring off. Kagura twirled around her fighting fan. The two women stood there like gunmen waiting for the other to draw. The noon sun glared down at them as they stood there, feet shoulder width apart, glaring at each other. It reminded Kagome of a western. The only thing missing was the dramatic music.

For minutes, neither moved. Until Inu-Yasha shouted, "Get at it, women! We don't have all day!"

Kagura sighed and lunged at Ari. She sidestepped and pushed her saya out to gut the other woman. However, Kagura slid out her fan and slashed outward with it. Ari backed off, but Kagura's slash was fast enough to create a windblade that nearly hit Ari. She turned her body to the left. Instead of slicing her in half, the blow only cut off the sleeve of her kimono. Spinning around, Ari sent a death glare at the wind demoness.

Drawing her iaito, she returned the slash, cutting diagonally upwards. The tip of her iaito caught the billowing hem of Kagura's kimono. The fabric wrapped itself around the blade, and the two women broke out into a tug-o'-war.

"Let go of my kimono!" Kagura yelled.

"You let go of my blade!" Ari shouted back.

"You let go first!"

"Nonsense! You leave my sword alone!"

"BITCH! Let go of me!!!" Kagura screamed.

Inu-Yasha and Miroku leaned against a tree, watching them. As they started their screaming match, the hanyou sighed. "Women. Can't fight." The monk nodded in total agreement. "Yes. But don't they look so cute when they try?"

Inu-Yasha growled. "Don't you ever think of anything else, monk?"

Miroku seemed to think about it. "Uh...No."

The half-demon sighed, until a startled yelp flung him awake.

"_Ryuujin no Mai!" Kagura yelled desperately, waving her fan at Ari. Windblades shot out and sliced through the kimono. "Replacing this will cost me a fortune – Naraku's so going to deduct that from my pay," she muttered darkly. "Anyhow, I __will see you again, and then..."_

"You'll finish us off," the others chorused. 

"It's not my fault! It's that freaking contract!" With that, Kagura vanished.

Ari straigthened her kimono again. "That was weird," she said.


	5. Ari and the Lecherous Monk

CHAPTER FIVE: ARI AND A LECH MONK

A/N: Ari's so gonna kill me for this chapter – so, if I don't update within a week, you know what happened to me. I'll probably end up as some pork chop somewhere.

Miroku grinned as he glanced at the women walking on either side of him. One was a tough, beautiful demon huntress. The other was an equally beautiful, and no less powerful, young swordswoman. He was equally attracted to both, yet both were strangely resistant towards his efforts to make a move on them. He grinned. He liked a challenge.

Ari sighed as she felt Miroku's gaze linger on her again. _Why can't this monk ever think of something else??? He was a good person – when he wasn't trying to pick up girls. Which was almost always. But other than that, he was a good person, she tried to convince herself. She knew she was rapidly failing to do so._

            "You're lucky," Sango told her. "Why?"

            "He hasn't tried his pickup line on you yet." The other woman grinned.

            "Don't you mean, _he's_ lucky he hasn't tried it yet?"

            "Right." The two women smiled evilly. Their devilish laughter resounded in the forest.

            Somewhere in a hole, Naraku cowered in fear of the sound of the evil laughter. He'd thought his "Kukuku" was the evilest of all, but this was just too evil, even for him.

            The campfire was crackling, and casting long shadows into the night. Kagome and Shippou had gone to sleep, Inu-Yasha had retreated into a tree, and Sango, Ari, and Miroku were the only ones that were still sitting around the fire. Sango shot the monk a last glance. "Goodnight, Ari, houshi-sama." Then she rolled up with Kirara, her fire cat demon.

            "It's a cold night," Miroku commented. Ari spied him suspiciously. "Not really." Of course, being used to the warm weather in California had Ari freezing in the less warm nights of summertime Japan. But she wouldn't admit that to Miroku.

            She glared at him as he slid closer. The monk was within arms reach now. "What do you want, Miroku?"

            Miroku gathered his courage for an attempt. He grinned slightly as he slid even closer to Ari and placed an arm around her shoulder. "AAAAHHH!!!!" he shouted as his arm was twisted backwards violently. 

            Ari let go of Miroku's arm. It had been a reflex, honed by years of martial arts training. "Are you hurt?" He nodded. "Mortally wounded! I feel my life slipping away, seeping into nothingness..." She felt his hand trying to reach her butt, and kicked him once more. She knew he wasn't too hurt when he was still able to do _that_.

            He sat down in front of her, his hands at his sides. "I have a question to ask of you," he told her.

            "Go ahead." She eyed him warily.

            He leaned forward and grasped her hands in his. "Will you bear my child?"

**_SLAP!!!!!!!!!!!_**

       The slap resounded in the forest. "WHAT???" Ari's face was flushed deep red, and she was glad the darkness hid it from the monk. She was still trying to figure out whether it was from embarassment or anger. _Probably both, she thought. _Man, Sango was right when she said his pickup line was bad. No wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend.__

            Miroku reached out for her again. "But Lady Ari! You are like a sakura blossom in the summer sky! Your hair is like...like...fire, and you are the perfect flower!" Ari tuned him and his bad poetry out.

            What she didn't tune out was his futile attempt to pull her into a kiss. She pushed him away and groped around for her iaito. "Keep away from me, you bastard!" She drew her iaito and held it in front of her to ward off the (obviously intoxicated) monk. "Lady Ari!" He came flying at her. Ari whacked him repeatedly, screaming loud enough to wake up this side of the Earth every time she struck. "GO...AWAY...YOU...PERVERT!!!!!!!!!"

            Miroku looked somewhat battered, but he was still grinning like a maniac. "But Lady Ari..."

            "OH, AND WHAT I WANTED TO TELL YOU SINCE I MET YOU," Ari screamed at the top of her lungs...

            Somewhere on the other side of the world Naraku winced as he heard that voice again. He cowered deeper into his hole. Maybe she wouldn't find him.

            "Yes, my little flower?" Miroku batted his eyelashes.

            "YOU SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ari was livid. 

            From the campfire, Kagome and Sango were watching amusedly. Above them, Inu-Yasha was snickering, and Shippou was confused. "What happened? What did he do?"

            Kagome patted his head. "You'll understand when you're older, Shippou."


	6. A Magical Katana

CHAPTER SIX: A MAGICAL KATANA 

Inu-Yasha halted in mid-step and glanced around. "What is it, Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked. The hanyou growled. "Sesshoumaru is here."

A moment later, the large dog-demon stepped out of the shadows. "I see you brought some more females into this world, Inu-Yasha. As long as you don't get them killed."

Ari protested, "Hey, you dog-turd! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" Sesshoumaru turned, his white hair flowing around in the slight breeze. "What did you call me, woman?"

"Are you deaf, too?" Ari was boiling, her face flushed red with anger.

"I am not incapable of hearing. I was merely trying to confirm that you just insulted me, wench."

That broke what little patience Ari had, and her temper broke through. "That's damn right, I insulted you, you dog-turd!" Sango tried to restrain the obviously insane woman before she said something stupid, but it was already too late. Sesshoumaru walked over to the girl, towering over her. "I challenge you. In three days, on the plains at the abandoned well." With that, the demon left.

Sango sighed. "You know Ari-chan, you shouldn't go around challenging demons like that. It's bad for your health." The other girl glanced at the tayji-ya. "What do you mean?"

"He's Inu-Yasha'e half-brother."

"Great. Does he at least use the right technique?" 

Sango laughed. "That's all you think about when you fight? I'm not sure, maybe he does..."

"Feh. Anyway, we need to get you a new weapon." Inu-Yasha moved to stand beside them. "Why?"

"Simple." The hanyou growled and took her iaito. "This is metal." He drew the Tetsusaiga. "This is magic. Now, which one will win?"

Ari was beginning to see his point. "All right. Where do I get an enchanted blade in three days?"

"We could always try Totousan," Kagome informed them.

"Let's go."

"Ah, you need a blade, young lady?" The elderly man in front of her looked so fragile that Ari was wondering how he could lift the heavy smith's hammer he was holding. "Yes."

"What kind of weapon?"

"A katana, a magical one."

"Hmmm..." The man thought for a moment. "What is your element?"

Ari looked confused. "Uhh...water?"

"You shall have your blade in two days."

Two days later, they returned. As soon as they stopped, Totousan walked out of the hut, holding an elongated object wrapped in night black silk. He walked up to Ari and handed it over. "Just one thing, young lady," he said. "Make sure you don't die that day."

As the weaponsmith retreated, Ari untied the cord that held the silk wrappings. The cloth fell to the ground as she gaped at the weapon in her hands. The saya was a light blue, a bright as the sky, polished to a degree that reflected the sun perfectly off it. The sageo cord was made out of the finest sea green silk to match the saya, the fabric shimmering under the sun. As her gaze wandered over the weapon, the girl admired the intricately carved gold decorations at the base of the hilt, the tsuba, at the throat of the saya, and the cap at the end of the sheath. The handle was wrapped in strands of black fabric, and the polished wooden handle was barely visible beneath it.

She drew out the blade. It was extremely light, and she marvelled at its balance as she swung it around a few times. It seemed perfect, made to fit her, and no one else. The blade edge was razor sharp, and Ari noticed a tiny glimmer every time she swung it. She didn't know what the blade was made out of, but the material glimmered in an iridiscent light. She re-sheathed the katana, and drew it once more in a horizontal cut. To her surprise, there was a visible wind blade that extended for several feet before extinguishing.

"How is your sword, woman?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Perfect. Just perfect," she told him. "Let Sesshoumaru come."


	7. Showdown with Sesshoumaru

CHAPTER SEVEN: SHOWDOWN WITH SESSHOUMARU

The sun shone down on the well, its last rays bathing the area in an eerie crimson light. Ari stood next to the well, her new weapon in the belt of her kimono. Finally, a long shadow emerged from the trees. Sesshoumaru stepped out of the woods. Ari noticed for the first time that he was missing one arm. Still, he was carrying two swords – a katana, old and worn like Inu-Yasha's, and a long sword.

The two squared off. In one fluid motion, both drew and clashed their swords in mid-air. Ari absently noted that Sesshoumaru had drawn his longsword, not his katana. The girl retracted her blade and brought it back up in a diagonal slash, then blocked a low cut. The two fighters leapt apart.

She noticed the youkai hadn't even broken a sweat yet, and grinned. "Hey, dog-turd! That all you got?" She yelled. Sesshoumaru growled and lunged at her, the tip of his blade leading. She parried and let the sword slide off her own blade, then sidestepped and cut downwards. Her blade bounced off the hiltguard of Sesshoumaru's longsword.

Ari pulled back and resheathed her sword, preparing for a kata, while Sesshoumaru flexed his muscles and lunged. Her sword met the demon's in mid-air, her horizontal cut blocked by Sesshoumaru's blade. She brought her blade back up over her head, and Sesshoumaru cut sideways. She barely sidestepped the cut, and brought her blade down again.

After a few minutes of furious clashing, the two separated again. Ari was panting, her face flushed with the exertion, and even Sesshoumaru seemed to be tiring out. Ari returned her sword to its sheats.

The two stood for a few moments, catching their breath. The youkai finally attacked again, and Ari drew her blade. A light red glow emanated from the iridiscent blade and flowed off it. The wind blade hit Sesshoumaru square on. The demon managed to bring his sword up to block it barely, the brunt of the blast unloading itself on the rest of his body. The demon flew backward, and staggered back to his feet.

Ari stood in the field, her auburn hair framed by the light of the dying sun, her blade still in hand. A slight breeze billowed her kimono as she stood there, waiting for him to come again. Daring him to come again. 

_Never mess with an angry girl,_ Inu-Yasha thought to himself.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" A tiny voice peeped. Ari turned around and stumbled, falling to the ground and flattening Jaken in the process. "Shhhmmpppfffff-smmmm!" She rolled off the toad and sighed, then got back to her feet. As she walked back to the others, she accidentally – or maybe not – trampled on Jaken. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" A tiny voice shouted out of the Jaken-shaped hole in the ground.

"Impressive, woman," Inu-Yasha conceded. "That was great!" Sango agreed. Ari held her sheathed blade before her to ward off Miroku. Kagome grinned. "Yeah!"


	8. Wake Up Call

CHAPTER EIGHT: WAKE-UP CALL

Ari shook her head and turned around in her futon. The ringing just wouldn't go away. Actually, it was worse than ringing. It was this darn Austrian Polka music that kept repeating itself over and over again in her head. She hated Austrian Polka.

She turned around and buried her head in her covers, hoping the music would go away. 

Ari opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. She absentmindedly found herself counting the tiles in the ceiling. _Wait. Since when does Kaede's hut have tiles?_ That thought shook her fully awake. "What in the world...?"

The girl looked around a very familiar room. Couch, TV, table, VCR... _I'm back home? How? Then she heard the ringing again. It was coming from somewhere beneath the pillow under her head. As she retrieved her phone, she fumbled around a little bit, not being used to handle it anymore._

"Yes?"

"Ari?"

"Hey...Tim." She tried to place the voice to the face.

"Yeah. Ari, listen, Sung's arranged a training session at the dojo tonight. Are you going to come?"

"Anaheim dojo?"

"Which one else?" The cheerie male voice replied.

"All right."

"Good."

Ari frowned. "By the way, this may sound weird, but what date do we have?"

"Well, it's Saturday, January 30, 2004. Why? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's all right."

"Good. See you later."

"Later,"

As she hung up the phone, she sighed. It had just been a dream. A good one, at that, too. It had felt like real. Still, it was just a dream. Ari sighed and cleaned up her living room. As she went to switch off the TV, she noticed the credits running. 

"INU-YASHA, created by Rumiko Takahashi..."

She smiled slightly as she remembered her dream.

When she woke up the next day, she found a long, silk-wrapped package next to her on her nightstand. On it was a card. It read,

"I'll be working on my technique. Until another time, woman."

Ari smiled.


	9. Epilogue and Dedications

EPILOGUE: A TRIBUTE TO ARI

A/N_ Hey, the fact that I'm writing this means Ari hasn't killed me! Uh...yet. Anyway, this is the dedications and tribute to her. Inu-Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, but Ari belongs to herself.

_To Ari – swordswoman, daredevil, lady, and generally good person._

Ari's a wonderful young lady, and this story is nowhere intended as a critique of her. Also, it shouldn't be seen as a portrait of her, a story can never truly grasp the entirety of her character. While she _is_ good at Iaido - and sometimes a little extreme – she is nowhere near as excessive as shown here. She is a nice, gentle person, despite her temper, and fun to hang around and talk to.

Ari, I hope you don't hate me for exaggerating your personality – you're a great person, and I hoped to show that in this story. Young lady, don't change.

Well, Ari, thank you for taking part in this story. It has been fun to write, and I hope it will be equally fun to read it. I'll see you next Friday at Iaido.

_P.S.: _I have _no_ doubt you could take on Inu-Yasha, Sesshoumaru, Sango, or Miroku anytime. ;.-)

Patrick

February 2nd, 2004


End file.
